Moses Brings Them Out to the Theaters

It doesn’t have the glamour of Cannes or the indie cred of Sundance, but it does boast Moses as its mascot.

In the lead-up to next month’s Toronto Jewish Film Festival, organizers have released a series of ads featuring the biblical forefather in a humorous mix of modern situations - a publicity effort that has won praise from the ad industry but a ban from the city’s Transit Commission.

The most risque element of the campaign - and the subject of the ban - is an image of Moses in a “Ten Commandments”-style robe, exiting a limo without underwear and unintentionally flashing the paparazzi, in the manner of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears circa 2007. Although Moses’ private parts are tastefully blurred, a Transit Commission rep told trade newspaper Ad Week that it was rejected for fear of “instances where people might not find it funny.” (“We can’t think of any, but I suppose it’s possible,” Ad Week countered.)

A pair of YouTube promos feature Moses working at a movie theater, in one case serving goat’s milk rather than soda at the concession stand. Working as a janitor in the second ad, the Israelite leader splits a puddle of spilled soda for an attractive woman, then brings it back together before her date can pass.